Pre-processing for communication services

ABSTRACT

A method for providing a communication service includes detecting an initiated communication initiated by a communications device with a processor and a memory. Environmental data for an environment of the communications device is identified based on detecting the initiated communication. The environmental data is used to supplement a communication service requested by the initiated communication.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to communication services. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to pre-processingenvironmental context information for a communication before aninteractive agent for a communication service begins providing thecommunication service in the communication.

2. Background Information

When a communication is initiated to request a communication service,time is spent initiating and processing the communication in order toarrange an interactive agent to provide the communication service. Forexample, a telephone call begins with a dialed number being input orselected, followed by the dialed number being interpreted in the networkto identify a destination, the communication being routed to theidentified destination, and then the destination being contacted toarrange an agent to provide the communication service. Alternatively, aninternet request begins with an internet address being input orselected, followed by the internet address being interpreted to identifyan internet destination, the internet request being routed to theidentified internet destination, and then the internet destination beingcontacted to retrieve an interactive webpage from a host that hosts thewebpage to provide the communication service. Even following the initialcontact with the dialed number or webpage, an interaction with aninteractive agent may be delayed based on, e.g., activity volume, orwhile awaiting a requester of the communication service to inputrequested information as part of pre-processing before the communicationservice is provided by an agent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary general computer system that includes a set ofinstructions for pre-processing for communication services, according toan aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary network for pre-processing for communicationservices, according to an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary user device for pre-processing forcommunication services, according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary process for pre-processing for communicationservices, according to an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows another exemplary network for pre-processing forcommunication services, according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6 shows another exemplary process for pre-processing forcommunication services, according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 7 shows another exemplary process for pre-processing forcommunication services, according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram for pre-processing for communicationservices, according to an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows another flow diagram for pre-processing for communicationservices, according to an aspect of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 shows another flow diagram for pre-processing for communicationservices, according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In view of the foregoing, the present disclosure, through one or more ofits various aspects, embodiments and/or specific features orsub-components, is thus intended to bring out one or more of theadvantages as specifically noted below.

Environmental data as described herein is context information for theenvironment around a communications device that initiates acommunication. The environmental data specifically defines, isspecifically characteristic of, or is uniquely and specifically obtainedin an area that is the environment from which a communication isoriginated. The environmental data can include characteristics of therequester or other individuals in the area, characteristics of thenature of the area, environmental characteristics of the area such astemperature, records of activity in the environment, or any other dataspecific to an area and that may help explain the context of why aspecific communication request is being initiated by the requester fromthe area.

When a requester wants to request a communication service, the requesterenters a communications address, or searches for a communicationsaddress and selects a communications address returned from the search. Acommunication is then initiated. During the time from when the requesterstarts to initiate the communication, the communication is initiated andthe initiated communications is detected, and environmental data for thecommunication is identified based on detecting the initiation of theinitiated communication. The environmental data is used to supplement acommunication service requested by the initiated communication.

A smart phone or other communications device is used to initiate thecommunication. The smart phone or other communications device has amemory that stores data and executable instructions, and a processorthat processes the data and executable instructions. The communicationsdevice may also store and execute executable instructions that monitorthe communications device to detect when a communication is initiated,such as by detecting when a communications address is being entered orselected, or by detecting when the communications address is beinginitially processed to initiate the communication.

FIG. 1 is an illustrative embodiment of a general computer system, onwhich a method of pre-processing for communication services can beimplemented, which is shown and is designated 100. The computer system100 can include a set of instructions that can be executed to cause thecomputer system 100 to perform any one or more of the methods orcomputer based functions disclosed herein. The computer system 100 mayoperate as a standalone device or may be connected, for example, using anetwork 101, to other computer systems or peripheral devices.

In a networked deployment, the computer system may operate in thecapacity of a server computer or as a client user computer in aserver-client user network environment, or as a peer computer system ina peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The computer system100 can also be implemented as or incorporated into various devices,such as a personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, a laptop computer,a server computer, a client computer, a peer computer, a tablet personalcomputer (PC), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, aglobal positioning satellite (GPS) device, a palmtop computer, acommunications device, a wireless telephone, a control system, apersonal trusted device, a web appliance, an interactive systemcomputer, an interactive response system, a user computer, a userdevice, a user smart phone, an agent computer, an agent IP phone, amonitor, or any other machine capable of executing a set of instructions(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by thatmachine. In a particular embodiment, the computer system 100 can beimplemented using electronic devices that provide voice, video or datacommunication. Further, while a single computer system 100 isillustrated, the term “system” shall also be taken to include anycollection of systems or sub-systems that individually or jointlyexecute a set, or multiple sets, of instructions to perform one or morecomputer functions as described herein.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the computer system 100 may include aprocessor 110, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), or both. Moreover, the computer system 100 caninclude a main memory 120 and a static memory 130 that can communicatewith each other via a bus 108. As shown, the computer system 100 mayfurther include a video display unit 150, such as a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a flat paneldisplay, a solid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT).Additionally, the computer system 100 may include an input device 160,such as a keyboard/virtual keyboard or touch-sensitive input screen, anda cursor control device 170, such as a mouse or touch-sensitive inputscreen or pad. The computer system 100 can also include a disk driveunit 180, a signal generation device 190, such as a speaker or remotecontrol, and a network interface device 140.

In a particular embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 1, the disk drive unit180 may include a computer-readable medium 182 in which one or more setsof instructions 184, e.g. software, can be embedded. A computer-readablemedium 182 is a tangible article of manufacture, from which sets ofinstructions 184 can be read. Further, the instructions 184 may embodyone or more of the methods or logic as described herein. In a particularembodiment, the instructions 184 may reside completely, or at leastpartially, within the main memory 120, the static memory 130, and/orwithin the processor 110 during execution by the computer system 100.The main memory 120, the static memory 130, and the processor 110 alsomay be or may include computer-readable media that are tangible andnon-transitory during the time instructions 184 are stored therein.

In an alternative embodiment, dedicated hardware implementations, suchas application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arraysand other hardware devices, can be constructed to implement one or moreof the methods described herein. Applications that may include theapparatus and systems of various embodiments can broadly include avariety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodimentsdescribed herein may implement functions using two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or asportions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, thepresent system encompasses software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system. The software programs includeexecutable instructions executed by processors as described herein.Further, in an exemplary, non-limited embodiment, implementations caninclude distributed processing, component/object distributed processing,and parallel processing. Alternatively, virtual computer systemprocessing can be constructed to implement one or more of the methods orfunctionality as described herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium 182 thatincludes instructions 184 or receives and executes instructions 184responsive to a propagated signal; so that a device connected to anetwork 101 can communicate voice, video or data over the network 101.Further, the instructions 184 may be transmitted or received over thenetwork 101 via the network interface device 140. The computer-readablemedium 182 or any other computer-readable medium contemplated herein maybe a tangible machine or article of manufacture that is tangible andnon-transitory for a period of time during which instructions and/ordata are stored therein or thereon.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary network that includes an interactive systemcomputer 230, an agent computer 241 and an agent IP phone 243 to providea communication service using pre-processed environmental data from usercomputer 201 and user smartphone 203, according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure. An agent system may use analog phones as analternative to an IP phone 243, or combined analog/IP devices thatconvert analog input to IP output and vice versa. In FIG. 2, usercomputers 201 and user smartphone 203 each communicate across networks211 with interactive system computer 230. The interactive systemcomputer 230 is a computer such as the general computer system 100 shownin FIG. 1, and includes processor 231 and memory 232 consistent with thedescriptions of processors and memory described for FIG. 1. Theinteractive system computer 230 may be an interactive voice responsesystem computer for voice calls or a web server or other type of serverfor interactive web sites. The networks 211 may be any combination ofwired, wireless, voice, data, packet-switched and circuit-switchednetworks, so long as the networks 211 can carry communications from usercomputer 201 and user smart phone 203 to the interactive system computer203.

Additionally, networks 211 and other networks described herein mayinclude different networks used differently to carry voice and data. Forexample, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network may not permitsimultaneous use of a data connection and a voice connection due tocompliance with a data-only standard rather than a data and voicestandard, so a voice communication and a data communication involving acommunication device may require the CDMA network as well as a separatesecond network to communicate using voice and data simultaneously orotherwise in cooperation. Similarly, separate CDMA and LTE networks maybe used for voice and data communications using two separate antennasand two separate network connections on a single user device.Alternatively, a CDMA network may be used for voice communications and aWiFi network for data communications and Bluetooth connection for sensordata. As yet another alternative, an LTE network may be used for widearea network voice and data and a WiFi network for local area networksensor data communications for, e.g., sensors such as IP video cameras.

Whereas in FIG. 2 an interactive system computer 230 may be an automatedcomputer agent that provides all or part of a communication service, anagent computer 241 and agent IP phone 243 may also be used by humanagents to provide all or part of a communication service. Agents thatprovide a communication service may communicate using isolated voice ordata networks and systems, or integrated voice and data networks andsystems of any type known. For example, a call to an interactiveresponse system that includes interactive voice response can beinitiated by a user using a smartphone, and the interactive responsesystem can send a text link to the user so that the user can thensimultaneously visit a website of the interactive response system whileinteracting with the interactive voice response of the interactiveresponse system.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the interactive system computer 230 mayprovide coordinated services with agents using agent computer 241 andagent IP phone 243. For example, the interactive system computer 230 maybe an interactive voice response system that initially receives andprocesses calls before identifying and transferring the calls to anappropriate agent using the agent IP phone 243 and agent computer 241.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the environmental data is data from theenvironment at the location of user computer 201 or user smartphone 203.An application running on the user computer 201 or user smartphone 203may detect that a communication is being initiated, such as a call to a911 service, and begin gathering environmental data while the call isbeing placed and awaiting answer. For example, the application runningon user computer 201 or user smartphone 203 may detect that a call isbeing placed to 911, and immediately begin recording and analyzingsounds around the device to try and determine the nature of theemergency for which the call is being placed. The application mayinclude speech and voice recognition or other sound recognition to usein analyzing whether captured audio can help explain why the call isbeing placed, or the application may simply capture and forward audiofor analysis by the agent systems or a proxy for the agent systems. Theenvironmental data that is captured, retrieved and/or analyzed can betemperature, time of day, time zone, location, voice data, image orvideo data, and include data from other applications such as a weathermonitoring application or a camera application. The environmental datais sent across networks 211 to the interactive system computer 230,and/or agent computer 241, and/or agent IP phone 243 or another type ofcomputer that can analyze and use the environmental data to supplement acommunication service being requested.

In another embodiment, the environmental data may be sent to andanalyzed by a different computer than the computer used as or by theagent in FIG. 2 to provide the communication service. The differentcomputer can analyze the environmental data and then feed analysisresults to the computer and/or phone used as or by the agent in FIG. 2.An example of such a different computer is shown in FIG. 2 asindependent environmental data analysis computer 250. In FIG. 2,independent environmental data analysis computer 250 serves as a proxyfor agent systems so as to receive and analyze environmental data fromuser devices. In the embodiment of FIG. 2 this different computer 250may receive and analyze environmental data and provide the analysisresults to the automated agent at interactive system computer 230 or thehuman agent using agent computer 241 and/or agent IP phone 243. Theindependent environmental data analysis computer 250 may collectenvironmental data from the user computer 201 and user smartphone 203,and analyze the environmental data on behalf of the agent systems.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, agent systems are shown by way ofinteractive system computer 230, agent computer 241, and agent IP phone243. As noted, human and virtual/automated agents in FIG. 2 may receiveenvironmental data from the independent environmental data analysiscomputer 250. However, agent systems can be isolated or integrated voiceand data systems of any type known for use by agents that providecommunication services. The agents and agent systems can receiveenvironmental data already processed by the user devices from which theenvironmental data is sent, or may receive raw environmental data forprocessing and interpretation of relevance in order to supplement therequested communication service.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary user device for pre-processing forcommunication services, according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure. In FIG. 3, user device 340 includes a memory 310 that storesinstructions and data, and a processor 346 that processes theinstructions and uses the data in accordance with the instructions. Theuser device 340 also includes environmental coordination application 311that coordinates activities of environmental monitor application #1 312and environmental monitor application #2 313. The user device 340 alsoincludes a receiver 343 and a transmitter 344 for communicating overnetwork 348 and network 349. As shown in FIG. 3, the user device 340includes two different antennas 350 and 351. The two different antennas350 and 351 are representative of circumstances where a communicationtakes place over a first network and environmental data is sent over adifferent and possibly incompatible second network.

Environmental monitor application #1 312 and environmental monitorapplication #2 313 may be applications that monitor different aspects ofthe environment around a communications device, such as outdoortemperature and weather from a weather service and temperatureimmediately around the communication device from a built-in thermometer.The environmental coordination application 311 may analyzecommunications as they are being initiated, and determine when toprovide the environmental data from environmental monitor application #1312 and environmental monitor application #2 313 to a particularcommunication service.

In FIG. 3, user device 340 is used by a user to initiate communications.An example of user device 340 is a smart phone, a tablet, a laptop orother computer that communicates using Voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP). The user device 340 performs disparate tasks in the embodimentof FIG. 3, including initiating a communication to a communicationservice provider, detecting that the communication has been initiated,and identifying environmental data based on detecting that thecommunication has been initiated. The user device 340 can sendidentified environmental data to the communication service provider or aproxy for the communication service provider, and the communicationservice provider can then use the environmental data to supplement thecommunication service. Therefore, the supplementing of the communicationservice is provided both by the user device 340 sending the identifiedenvironmental data to the communication service provider or proxy, andthe communication service provider actually using the identifiedenvironmental data to enhance, alter, revise, update or otherwise affectthe communication service that is provided.

In FIG. 3, the receiver 343 and transmitter 344 communicate over network348 and network 349 respectively. The processor 346 processesinstructions and data from the receiver 343 and memory 310, and forwardsinstructions or data to transmitter 344 for transmission or to memory310 for storage. In FIG. 3, environmental coordination application 311may monitor an input device of the user device 340, such as analpha-numeric input device 160 shown in FIG. 1. When environmentalcoordination application 311 detects that a communication is beinginitiated, the environmental coordination application may identify theinput address of the communication recipient, and determine whether theidentified communication recipient corresponds to a communicationservice provider for which environmental data should be sent tosupplement the communication service.

The recipients of the communications sent by the user device 340 includeautomated and human agents of a communication service provider, such asinteractive system computer 230 in FIG. 2, or agent computer 241 andagent IP phone 243 in FIG. 2. The recipients may receive theenvironmental data directly from the user device 340, or from a proxysuch as an internet application server. The communication serviceprovider and/or proxy analyzes the environmental data and theenvironmental data is used to update a communication service script usedby agents to provide the communication service.

In other embodiments, part of communication service scripts may beexecuted on the user devices as part of distributed processing, and thepart of the communication service scripts on the user devices may beupdated based on the environmental data without requiring that theenvironmental data be sent across the network to any agent system. Forexample assistance applications on user devices might be coordinatedwith service applications on internet servers, so that the assistanceapplications analyze the environmental data on the user devices and varythe parts of the communication service script executed on the userdevices in accordance with the analysis results.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary process for pre-processing for communicationservices, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In FIG. 4,environmental data is captured at S405 before a communication isinitiated by a communications device at S410. At S413, the initiatedcommunication is detected and at S416 the initiated communication isanalyzed. As described in the embodiment of FIG. 3, an environmentalcoordination application 311 on a user device 340 may monitor the userdevice 340 for initiated communications. For example, the environmentalcoordination application 311 may monitor an alpha-numeric input device160 shown in FIG. 1 for input addresses, or may monitor output of theprocessor 110 shown in FIG. 1 to detect when a communication isinitiated at S413. Upon determining that the communication is initiated,the environmental coordination application 311 analyzes the initiatedcommunication at S416 based on the available data to identify thedestination and/or nature of the initiated communication.

Based on the results of the analysis at S416, the environmentalcoordination application 311 on user device 340 identifies environmentaldata, such as from monitor applications 312 and 313, for an environmentof the communications device at S420. The environmental coordinationapplication 311 may include instructions that certain environmentaldata, or categories of environmental data, are to be provided insupplementing communications to particular destinations or types ofdestinations.

As an example, at S416, the environmental coordination application 311may identify that a call is being made to 911, and at S420 sorts throughmultiple types of available environmental data to identify which of theavailable environmental data might be relevant to the 911 communicationservice. At S420, the environmental coordination application 311 maydetermine that a 911 service may find location information, includingwhether the user device 340 is indoors or outdoors, most relevant to the911 service. Alternatively or additionally, at S420 the environmentalcoordination application 311 may determine that the 911 service may wishto have audio or even video data captured while the call is beingprocessed or awaiting answer by an agent. The environmental coordinationapplication 311 may then turn on a microphone and/or camera on the userdevice 340, and begin capturing and recording the identifiedenvironmental data to provide to the 911 service as data.

At S425, environmental data is captured by the user device 340. Theenvironmental data captured at S425 is in addition to any environmentaldata captured at or subsequent to S405, and is captured after theinitiated communication is detected at S413. The environmental datacaptured at S425 may be identified and captured specifically in responseto the identification of relevant environmental data that may berelevant to the initiated communication at S420. At S430, thecommunication service is supplemented with the environmental data afterthe environmental data is provided to the communication service directlyor via an intermediate proxy.

In FIG. 4, communications may be addressed to a variety of differentcommunications addresses for different communication services and typesof communication services. For example, telephony communications may beaddressed to 911 or other government service addresses, or help lines orcomplaint lines. Similarly, Internet addresses may be addressed to anynumber of different communication service providers including utility,insurance, banking, travel, government, medical services, and otherkinds of service providers.

Although the environmental data described herein is not profile orhistory data from previous communications initiated by user device 340,such profile and history data can also be used to supplement acommunication in conjunction with the environmental data. For example,history data showing a pattern of calls from an address of a particularuser device 340 may assist in identifying the type of environmental datathat can be useful when a new call is received at an emergency addressfrom the user device 340. The environmental data that is then capturedmay include audio and/or video data, as well as data from secondarydevices such as medical monitors that capture and/or previously captureddata pertinent to the destination of the identified communication.

As an example, a communication may be initiated as a call to a telephonenumber, or as a video conference request or a chat request over theInternet. An interactive system computer 230 as in FIG. 2 may receivethe call or request, as well as environmental data from the usercomputer 201 or user smartphone 203. The environmental data can then beused to help an automated or human agent identify why the communicationhas been initiated, or how to help respond to the initiatedcommunication.

As another example, a utility company such as a wireless serviceprovider may have an application installed on a user's wireless device,so that when calls to the utility company are made the calls can beidentified and environmental data obtained and analyzed prior to anyagent being assigned to the call. In this way, even before aninteractive response computer 230 in FIG. 2 answers the call and beginsproviding recorded announcements, the user device 340 in FIG. 3 may havealready captured and analyzed environmental data and provided theenvironmental data to the interactive response computer 230. Forinstance, the environmental data may be captured audio such as wordsdescribing the problem for which the call is being made.

An application on the user device 340 may include anadaptable/modifiable service-side script that is modified in response tocollecting sensor data from that home, such as data indicating poweroutages. Using such an adaptable/modifiable service-side script for anapplication on the user device 340, repeated incidents can beautomatically reported and acknowledged, resulting in the user notneeding to report new incidents when the application has alreadyinitiated the report. In other words, the service-side script can betrained to initiate automated communications based on previousincidents. Alternatively, the environmental data may be a location ofthe user device, obtained either from a GPS application or anotherapplication on the user device 340. Using the environmental data, theutility company may change a script by which the agent interacts with acaller. For example, rather than starting the interaction with promptsfor 7 or 8 different default options for a caller to select, the promptsmay be rearranged so that the most likely options relevant for the callare presented first. In this way, using the environmental data, theutility may offer an option #1 as “Press 1 for billing problems” if theapplication on the user device 340 identifies speech indicating that acaller is calling for a billing problem, whereas a default option #1would otherwise be “Press 1 to report a service outage”. Thus, thecommunication service script and statements for an interactive agent maybe varied depending on the environmental data obtained from the userdevice 340 when the call is initiated. As described herein, portions ofthe communication service script may also be executed on the userdevice, and these portions of the communication service script can beadapted using the environmental data without requiring that theenvironmental data be sent to the agent systems of the customer serviceprovider across a network. For example, algorithms for collecting,pre-processing and analyzing raw data, as well as for identifyingparticular raw data to send to the service provider, can be a part of anapplication on a user device, and can be modified by the nature of thedata collected. Communication service scripts on the agent systems canalso be adjusted as the data arrives before or even while the maincommunication occurs between the user and the agent.

FIG. 5 shows another exemplary network for pre-processing forcommunication services, according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure. In FIG. 5, a user smartphone 503 again has two antennas,antenna #1 550 and antenna #2 551. The antennas 550 and 551 are used tocommunicate across different networks 548 and 549, such as a voicenetwork and a data network. In FIG. 5, the user smartphone 503 alsocommunicates across a local wireless network 511, such as a wirelessfidelity (WiFi) network, with monitor #1 532 and monitor #2 531. In FIG.5, the user smartphone 503 also communicates directly via, e.g.,bluetooth, with monitor 33 533 and monitor #4 534.

Monitors 531, 532, 533 and 534 in FIG. 5 may be monitors that monitorhealth characteristics for an individual, such as blood pressure, heartrate, body temperature, brain activity, or other health characteristicsthat can be detected by a monitor. Alternatively, monitors 531, 532, 533and 534 may be alarm sensors such as fire alarms, smoke alarms, carbonmonoxide alarms, or door and window intrusion alarms. Monitors 531, 532,533 and 534 may also be video monitors or audio monitors. Monitors 531,532, 533 and 534 may also be appliance monitors, such as monitors thatmonitor for water (moisture) under a refrigerator or sink, or a gasmonitor that monitors for gas leaks around a stove or fireplace.Monitors 531, 532, 533 and 534 may also be monitors for indoorenvironmental conditions, such as monitors for pollen, particularallergens or humidity. Monitors 531, 532, 533 and 534 may also bemonitors for outdoor environmental conditions such as temperature,humidity or pollen.

In FIG. 5, the environmental data may be collected by the monitors531-534 even before a communication is initiated by user smartphone 503,and then identified by an application on the user smartphone 503 once acommunication is initiated. The environmental data may also be collectedby the monitors 531-535 as the communication is being initiated, duringthe communication with an agent, and even after the communication withthe agent ends. Thus, environmental data may be initially collectedbased on the communication being initiated, or may be collectedcontinuously or periodically including before the communication isinitiated.

FIG. 6 shows another exemplary process for pre-processing forcommunication services, according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure. In FIG. 6, an environment in proximity to a user device ismonitored at S605, by the user device and/or by secondary monitordevices as explained for the network shown in FIG. 5. At S610, anincident of interest is detected. At S613, environmental data for theincident is captured. The environmental data captured at S613 mayinclude whatever triggered the detection of the incident of interest atS610. At S616, a communication service script for a communication ismodified based on the environmental data, and at S630, a communicationservice may be supplemented with environmental data according to themodified communication service script.

As a somewhat-extreme example consistent with the embodiment of FIG. 6,a gunshot detector in an outdoor environment may detect and record agunshot, and then initiate an automated call to 911, either directly orthrough a monitoring system for the gunshot detector. The environmentaldata may include an approximated location of the gunshots, a number ofthe gunshots, a recording of the gunshots, a determination whether thegunshots were in a structure or a car or out on the street, an outdoorair temperature in the area around the gunshot detector, video oradditional audio from around the gunshot detector, or even environmentaldata from other monitors in the vicinity of the gunshot detector. Inthis way, even as a call is being initiated to the 911 system, data thatmight be relevant to the 911 system for the call is collected andanalyzed and provided to the 911 system. This environmental data mayalso be provided in association with individual humans thatindependently place calls to 911 to report the gunshots. In this way,smartphones and other devices may include applications that collect andprovide environmental data to assist a communication service before,during and after the call is initiated and an agent is assigned to thecommunication for interaction. Moreover, an incident can be crowdsourced, so that a communications device may refrain from gathering dataand/or automatically contacting 911 when other nearby communicationsdevices do not corroborate the reports.

Additionally, particular agents may be assigned to a communication basedon the environmental data captured and analyzed before any automated orhuman agent is assigned. For example, environmental data may reflectthat a caller or humans around the caller are speaking in a languageother than English, where English is the default language assumed forcalls by the service provider. In this instance, an agent familiar withthe language detected around the user device may be assigned to thecall.

FIG. 7 shows another exemplary process for pre-processing forcommunication services, according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure. In FIG. 7, a communication is initiated by a communicationsdevice at S710. The initiated communication is detected at S713. Theinitiated communication is analyzed at S716. Environmental data for anenvironment of the communications device is identified at S720. At S725,environmental data is captured. At S730, a default communication servicescript used to provide a communication service is updated according tothe captured environmental data. At S730, a requester using the userdevice interacts with an agent.

In the embodiment of FIG. 7, environmental data is captured at S725after the initiated communication is detected and analyzed and theenvironmental data is identified. For example, medical data may becontinuously obtained and recorded by medical monitors, and when a callis made to a hospital, doctor or other medical provider to report therecorded medical data, the call may be recognized and the medical datamay be automatically sent via a data connection. In this way, a doctoror medical provider receiving a call to discuss a patient's medicalconditions may also automatically receive the patient's medical datathat is identified, captured and provided across the network even beforethe call is answered by an agent. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, calls toa communication service such as an insurance provider may also bedetected so as to identify environmental data to report to the insuranceprovider.

FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram for pre-processing for communicationservices, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 8, a communications device 810 communications with an interactiveresponse system 830 across communications networks 820. Thecommunication may also be passed from the interactive response system830 to a human agent 840.

In FIG. 8, the communication is initiated at S851 by, for example, auser of the communications device entering a telephone number andpressing “send”. As shown, at S852 the communications device 810 detectsthe initiated communication. An application running on thecommunications device 810 may, for example, detect input from the userto an alpha-numeric interface and recognize the input as acommunications address. At S853, the communications device 810identifies environmental data that may be useful to the communicationservice to which the communication is directed. At S854, the identifiedenvironmental data is passed form the communications device 810 to theinteractive response system. At S855, the communications deviceinitiates a voice call setup to setup the call to the interactiveresponse system 830 through the communication network(s) 820. At S856,the environmental data is used by the interactive response system 830 tosupplement the communication service provided by the interactiveresponse system. That is, the communication service that would otherwisebe provided by the interactive response system 830 is altered, modified,updated or otherwise changed to use the environmental data passed fromthe communications device 810.

At S857, the voice call is passed from the interactive response system830 to the human agent 840. At S858, the human agent uses theenvironmental data to supplement the communication service provided bythe human agent. That is, the communication service that would otherwisebe provided by the human agent is altered, modified, updated orotherwise changed to use the environmental data passed from thecommunications device 810.

FIG. 9 shows another flow diagram for pre-processing for communicationservices, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In FIG. 9,monitor(s) 905 are also present in the environment of a communicationsdevice, now labeled as 910. As shown in FIG. 9, monitor(s) 905 collectenvironmental data at S951 even before a communication is initiated bycommunications device 910 with an interactive response system 930 acrosscommunication(s) networks 920. The communication in this embodiment mayalso be passed from the interactive response system 930 to a human agent940.

In FIG. 9, the communication is initiated at S952 by, for example, auser of the communications device entering a telephone number andpressing “send”. As shown, at S953 the communications device 910 detectsthe initiated communication. An application running on communicationsdevice 910 may, for example, detect input from the user to analpha-numeric interface and recognize the input as a communicationsaddress. At S954, the communications device 910 identifies environmentaldata that may be useful to the communication service to which thecommunication is directed. At S955, the identified environmental data ispassed form the communications device 910 to the interactive responsesystem 930 through the communication network(s) 920. At S956, theenvironmental data is again collected and passed through the network tothe interactive response system 930. At S958 the environmental data isused to supplement the communication service provided by the interactiveresponse system 930.

At S959, the voice call is passed from the interactive response system930 to the human agent 940. At S960, the human agent uses theenvironmental data to supplement the communication service provided bythe human agent.

As an implementation example for FIG. 9, environmental data can becontinuously gathered by monitor(s) 905 before a call and stored on alocal memory for the monitor(s) 905. Such environmental data can be, forexample, medical measurements over time. This pre-collected data canalso be analyzed and parsed so as to leverage user resources rather thannetwork resources when such environmental data is to be sent to acommunication service provider. Later, a call is placed, and the usercommunications device 910 detects the initiated communication at S953,and identifies the destination of the call and the environmental datathat is to be sent to the communication service provider with the call.Similarly, at S956 environmental data might be real-time speech heardwhile awaiting an agent, such as “My head hurts” or “My bill is wrong”.Any of this environmental data can be used by a service provider to varythe interactive response offerings offered to a user initiating thecommunication. In an embodiment of FIG. 10 described later, anapplication on a user device may passively monitor the environmentaround the communication device, and gather environmental data when keytriggers are detected, such as urgency in a voice.

In the embodiment of FIG. 9, environmental data is collected before thecommunication is even initiated by communications device 910. Further,environmental data is collected after environmental data is identifiedat S954 to determine which environmental data may be of use to thecommunication service to which the initiated communication is directed.Thus, environmental data may be passed through multiple times, andcollected even after a communication is initiated or on a periodic orongoing basis when appropriate.

FIG. 10 shows another flow diagram for pre-processing for communicationservices, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In FIG. 10,communications device 1010 communications with interactive responsesystem 1030 across communication network(s) 1020. Communications may bepassed from interactive response system 1030 to human agent 1040.

At S1051, environmental data is collected based on a trigger. Theenvironmental data in FIG. 10 is collected before a communication iseven initiated, such as when a monitoring application on thecommunications device 1010 detects an event while passively monitoringthe environment of the communications device. At S1052, communicationsdevice 1010 initiates a communication through the communication(s)network 1020. At S1053, the initiated communication is detected by anapplication running on the communications device 1010. At S1054,environmental data is identified by the communications device, based onthe initiated communication being detected.

At S1055, environmental data is passed through the network(s) 1020 fromcommunications device 1010 to interactive response system 1030. AtS1056, a voice call is passed through the network to the interactiveresponse system. At S1057, the interactive response system uses theenvironmental data to supplement the communication service provided bythe interactive response system 1030. At S1058, the voice call is passedthrough the network(s) 1020 to the human agent 1040, and at S1059 theenvironmental data is used to supplement the communication serviceprovided by the human agent 1040.

In the embodiments described herein, rules used to collect environmentaldata can be adjusted after a communication, so that the communicationdevice and/or monitors adjust which environmental data is collected,analyzed and sent for particular communication service providers. Forexample, after a call, an application on a user communication device, ornetwork-originated commands, can be applied to adjust data collectionrules on the user communications devices and/or monitors describedherein. For example, a pattern of medical calls could lead anapplication on a user device, or a program on an agent system, to orderthe user communication device to begin continuous data collection ofbiometric data.

As described herein, communication services can be supplemented withenvironmental data from an immediate environment around a user devicethat initiates the communication, and the environmental data may havebeen collected even before the communication is initiated. An example ofthe pre-processing described herein involves a financial institutionwith a downloadable application installed on customers' communicationsdevices. When a customer begins to call the financial institution, thefinancial institution's application on the customer's communicationsdevice may gather information from other predetermined relevantapplications on the communications device, such as other financialapplications that periodically monitor multiple financial accounts for auser. In this way, the financial institution's application may determinethat the user has recently incurred fees from other financialinstitutions, and may be inquiring how to avoid such fees bytransferring an account to the financial institution. Alternatively, thefinancial institution may determine that the user is in a location thatrecently experienced a natural disaster, and is likely to be calling forassistance related to the natural disaster such as insurance informationor a location of a functioning Automatic Teller Machine.

As described in the present disclosure, communication services canleverage down time from when communications are being initiated to whenan agent is assigned by obtaining environmental data from theenvironment around a user device used to initiate the communication. Thecommunication services can identify speech, location, weathercharacteristics or any other environmental characteristics that can beused to assist an agent in providing a communication service. Thecontext information described herein can be pre-processed, or processedin parallel with a communication, so as to reduce time required todetermine the reason for a call and an appropriate solution for thecaller. The context information can also be used to help identify anappropriate agent to handle a call, such as when the context informationidentifies that a caller or other parties in the area of a user devicehave great stress in their voices. Accordingly, environmental data canbe variably identified and analyzed depending on the communicationaddress to which a communication is being directed, and in somecircumstances even before a user presses “send” on their communicationdevice. Several of the embodiments described herein involve theidentification and use of environmental data while a communication isbeing initiated and up to the time the agent joins the call as thispre-processing can help the agent join the communication and avoidunnecessary requests.

The range of environmental data as described herein is open-ended, andcan include temperature, location, speech, medical monitor data,time/date, camera visuals, or other data. Additionally, environmentaldata can be gathered at any point in or even before a communication:before any sort of trigger, at the first trigger and up to theinitiation of communications, between the initiation of communicationsand the human/automated agent answering the communications, and evenafter the communication is answered. Similarly, the processing at anypoint at which environmental data is obtained and/or analyzed can berepeated again at another point i, as the context of a communicationbecomes more clear and a type or types of relevant environmental data toobtain comes in focus. Therefore, data collection rules for collectingenvironmental data can be adjusted, and selection of types of data togather and analyze and send can be repeated at each phase.

Additionally, though the present disclosure explains that differentnetworks and antennas may be provided for voice and data communications,a voice and data channel may be provided together and used for thesimultaneous or alternate communication of voice and data. For example,a single logical IP data channel may be used to carry voice and anynumber of data subchannels.

Additionally, an entire network of communications devices andaccessories or secondary devices/monitors may be provided, such as whena communications device is connected by Bluetooth to a collection ofhousehold environmental monitors, all of which provide environmentaldata. In a similar manner, multiple communications devices may be usedtogether to communicate with a communication service, such as when acaller uses a telephone to call a customer service line and thencommunicates over a website on a personal computer of the communicationservice provider while on the telephone. In such a circumstance,multiple devices could be employed. Similarly, as described herein, anagent system may have multiple communications devices that are employedtogether to provide a communication service. Moreover, environmentaldata could be sent simultaneously and redundantly over multiplenetworks, such as WiFi and cellular when a question arises as to whetherdata will be lost, or even when it is simply necessary or advantageousto allow separate upstream systems analyze data and then combine theanalyzed data downstream

Moreover, a group of users might all decide to initiate similarcommunications to a communication service, such as in a geographicallydispersed team-oriented competition or for business purposes. Thus,networks and agent systems as described herein may be coordinated so asto communicate with multiple user communications devices so as toprovide a single communication service, even when the multiplecommunications devices communicate over dissimilar or even incompatiblenetworks.

Algorithms for collecting raw data, pre-processing or analyzing it, andsending selected parts of it can exist in any data collection element orin the user's communication device(s) and be modified by the nature ofthe data being collected, and further modified once the initial triggersor communications to certain destinations are initiated by way of theadded context provided by those events. Communication service scripts inthe network-resident agents can also adjust as the data comes in priorto the main communications occurring between the user and the agent.

As set forth herein, according to an aspect of the present disclosure, amethod for providing a communication service includes detecting aninitiated communication initiated by a communications device with aprocessor and a memory. Environmental data for an environment of thecommunications device is identified based on detecting the initiatedcommunication. The environmental data is used to supplement acommunication service requested by the initiated communication.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the initiatedcommunication is a telephone call over a first channel, and theenvironmental data is sent over a second channel.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the secondchannel is a data channel.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, thecommunications device is used for both the telephone call and forsending the environmental data.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the environmentaldata is identified during a call setup of the telephone call.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the initiatedcommunication is to an agent system that provides a service.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, theenvironmental data is obtained before the initiated communication isinitiated.

According to still aspect of the present disclosure, the environmentaldata is obtained based on a trigger.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the environmentaldata that is obtained is captured based on the trigger before thecommunication is initiated.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, theenvironmental data is obtained after the initiated communication isinitiated and before a human agent joins the communication to providethe communication service.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, the methodalso includes identifying additional environmental data for theenvironment of the communications device during the communication, andusing the additional environmental data to update the environmental dataused to supplement the communication service.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the environmentaldata includes an air temperature of air in an indoor environment of thecommunications device, and an air temperature of air in an outdoorenvironment outside of the indoor environment of the communicationsdevice.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, theenvironmental data includes audio data captured in the environment ofthe communications device.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, theenvironmental data is obtained by the communications device from asecondary device in the environment of the communications device.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the secondarydevice is a medical monitor.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, thecommunications device retrieves the environmental data from the medicalmonitor based on the initiated communication.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, thecommunication service is provided by a human agent using theenvironmental data.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the communicationservice is provided by an automated agent using the environmental data.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, acommunication service script used by an agent to provide thecommunication service is modified based on the environmental data.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, theenvironmental data is data of a location of the initiating party.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a communicationservice script used to provide the communication service is updatedbased on information known for the location.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, theenvironmental data includes a location of the communications device, anda communication service script used to provide the communication serviceis updated based on information known for the location of thecommunications device.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, theenvironmental data is detected by the communications device using afirst application running on the communications device, and theenvironmental data is obtained originally by a second applicationrunning on the communications device.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the environmentaldata comprises a time of day detected based upon a location of thecommunications device.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the environmentaldata comprises a determination whether the communications device isindoors based on a difference between the air temperature of air in theenvironment of the communications device and a known temperature ofoutdoor air in an area that includes the communications device.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the environmentaldata comprises voice information captured by the communications devicebefore the agent system joins the communication.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the environmentaldata captures visual data captured by a camera of the communicationsdevice.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a type of theenvironmental data identified is selected in accordance with an inputaddress input to the communications device to initiate thecommunication.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a persistentadjustment is made to the agent system based on the environmental dataused to supplement the communication.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a system provides acommunication service. The system includes a memory that storesexecutable instructions, and a processor that executes the executableinstructions. When executed by the processor, the executableinstructions cause the system to perform operations including detectingan initiated communication initiated by a communications device, andidentifying environmental data for an environment of the communicationsdevice, based on detecting the initiated communication. Theenvironmental data is used to supplement a communication servicerequested by the initiated communication.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a computer readablestorage medium stores executable instructions that, when executed by aprocessor of a computer system, causes the system to perform operations.The operations include detecting an initiated communication initiated bya communications device with a processor and a memory, and identifyingenvironmental data for an environment of the communications device,based on detecting the initiated communication. The environmental datais used to supplement a communication service requested by the initiatedcommunication.

While a computer-readable medium herein may be shown to be a singlemedium, the term “computer-readable medium” includes a single medium ormultiple media, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/orassociated caches and servers that store one or more sets ofinstructions. The term “computer-readable medium” shall also include anymedium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set ofinstructions for execution by a processor or that cause a computersystem to perform any one or more of the methods or operations disclosedherein.

In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, thecomputer-readable medium can include a solid-state memory such as amemory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatileread-only memories. Further, the computer-readable medium can be arandom access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally,the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or opticalmedium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to capturecarrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmissionmedium. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include anycomputer-readable medium or other equivalents and successor media, inwhich data or instructions may be stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsthat may be implemented in particular embodiments with reference toparticular standards and protocols, the disclosure is not limited tosuch standards and protocols. Such standards are periodically supersededby faster or more efficient equivalents having essentially the samefunctions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocols having thesame or similar functions are considered equivalents thereof.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of the variousembodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a completedescription of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systemsthat utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many otherembodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewingthe disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from thedisclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.Additionally, the illustrations are merely representational and may notbe drawn to scale. Certain proportions within the illustrations may beexaggerated, while other proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, thedisclosure and the figures are to be regarded as illustrative ratherthan restrictive.

One or more embodiments of the disclosure may be referred to herein,individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely forconvenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of thisapplication to any particular invention or inventive concept. Moreover,although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangementdesigned to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted forthe specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover anyand all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b) and is submitted with the understanding that it will not beused to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Inaddition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, various features may begrouped together or described in a single embodiment for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter may be directed toless than all of the features of any of the disclosed embodiments. Thus,the following claims are incorporated into the Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as defining separately claimedsubject matter.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments which fall within thetrue spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope of the present disclosure is to bedetermined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the followingclaims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited bythe foregoing detailed description.

1. A method for providing a communication service, comprising: detectingan initiated communication initiated to a remote recipient over awireless network by a communications device with a processor and amemory; and identifying environmental data for an environment of thecommunications device, based on detecting the initiated communicationinitiated to the remote recipient over the wireless network, wherein theenvironmental data is used to supplement an interactive communicationservice provided by the remote recipient of the initiated communicationand requested by the initiated communication.
 2. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the initiated communication is a telephone call over afirst channel, and wherein the environmental data is sent for use by thecommunication service over a second channel.
 3. The method according toclaim 2, wherein the environmental data is identified during a callsetup of the telephone call.
 4. The method according to claim 2, whereinthe second channel is a data channel.
 5. The method according to claim2, wherein the communications device is used for both the telephone calland for sending the environmental data.
 6. The method according to claim1, wherein the initiated communication is to an agent system thatprovides the communication service.
 7. The method according to claim 1,wherein the environmental data is obtained before the initiatedcommunication is initiated.
 8. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe environmental data is obtained based on a trigger.
 9. The methodaccording to claim 8, wherein the environmental data that is obtained isobtained based on the trigger before the communication is initiated. 10.The method according to claim 1, wherein the environmental data isobtained after the initiated communication is initiated and before ahuman agent joins the communication to provide the communicationservice.
 11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:identifying additional environmental data for the environment of thecommunications device during the communication; and using the additionalenvironmental data to update the environmental data used to supplementthe communication service.
 12. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe environmental data includes an air temperature of air in an indoorenvironment of the communications device and an air temperature of airin an outdoor environment outside of the indoor environment of thecommunications device.
 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein theenvironmental data is obtained by the communications device from asecondary device in the environment of the communications device. 14.The method according to claim 13, wherein the secondary device is amedical monitor.
 15. The method according to claim 1, wherein acommunication service script used to provide the communication serviceis modified based on the environmental data.
 16. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the environmental data includes a location of thecommunications device, and wherein a communication service script usedto provide the communication service is updated based on informationknown for the location of the communications device.
 17. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the environmental data is detected by thecommunications device using a first application running on thecommunications device, and the environmental data is obtained originallyby a second application running on the communications device.
 18. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein a type of the environmental dataidentified is selected in accordance with an input address input to thecommunications device to initiate the communication.
 19. A system forproviding a communication service, the system comprising: a memory thatstores a plurality of executable instructions; a processor that executesthe plurality of executable instructions; wherein, when executed by theprocessor, the plurality of executable instructions cause the system toperform operations comprising: detecting an initiated communicationinitiated to a remote recipient over a wireless network by acommunications device; and identifying environmental data for anenvironment of the communications device, based on detecting theinitiated communication initiated to the remote recipient over thewireless network, and wherein the environmental data is used tosupplement an interactive communication service provided by the remoterecipient of the initiated communication and requested by the initiatedcommunication.
 20. A computer readable storage medium that stores aplurality of executable instructions that, when executed by a processorof a computer system, cause the computer system to perform operationscomprising: detecting an initiated communication initiated to a remoterecipient over a wireless network by a communications device with aprocessor and a memory; and identifying environmental data for anenvironment of the communications device, based on detecting theinitiated communication initiated to the remote recipient over thewireless network, wherein the environmental data is used to supplementan interactive communication service provided by the remote recipient ofthe initiated communication and requested by the initiatedcommunication.